THE QUARTERFINALS:

Coaches on the World Tour

I am often asked by my competition level clients at JimHoganSurfing.com camp and professional coaching classes: “When is the best time to hold back, and when is the best time to put your foot on the gas and give it all you’ve got?” My advice to them is: Never go half way! In the first rounds, you should always be ready to push it to the next level and to play your cards right until you reach the quarterfinals. When you reach the quarterfinals — which is where you finally see the word “finals” — you must treat every heat as if it were a final. I have discovered that the competitor who goes all out and gets the highest score of the quarterfinal heats is more than likely the competitor who will win the event.

Trending Up to the Winners Circle

It’s all about MOMENTUM. Building momentum in the early heats is the power that will propel you out of the elimination rounds and to the head of the pack. Your scores must keep climbing every heat. Don’t worry so much about points. Instead, focus on improving your previous score and the points will naturally follow. For example, in all of the first three men’s events this year during the Australian leg of the CT and in two of the three events in the women’s divisions the surfers with the highest score of all the quarterfinal competitors came second in the finals. I know what you’re asking yourself: Why didn’t they win? The crucial factor is ‘FOCUS’

Reset for the Finals

Once you begin to move into those final rounds you have to have laser-like focus on what it takes to win. Make every move count. Make every wave choice count. The nearer you get to the top, the narrower the margin for error. Focus breeds composure. Composure breeds the will to win. The will to win allows you to take the calculated risks that will bring you the crown. (I’ll discuss risk versus reward in a coming blog). To sum up: your most important assets are momentum and focus. Momentum builds the points needed to attract the judges’ attention; focus will help propel you to the Winner’s Circle.

I am Jim Hogan, from Jim Hogan Surfing and Professional Coaching and I will be bringing you more important tips from the CT World circuit throughout the year.